Relationship-based Marketing Driving Ad Spends in 2012

Collective Bias Poised to Lead Shopper Media Strategy for Brands and Shopper Influencers

We’re helping our clients integrate social into their media and marketing plans so that we’re amplifying existing media with shopper media to drive sales and increase online share of voice.

Bentonville, Arkansas (PRWEB) April 04, 2012

Social Media has become an integral part of marketing strategies for brands and retailers, and Collective Bias, a leading social shopper media company, is at the forefront of this innovative shift in marketing, making sure brands and retailers are receiving the most value out of the new phenomenon.

“Social Media has been around long enough that marketers should know that it’s more than a Facebook page or a Twitter account,” said Ted Rubin (@TedRubin), Chief Social Marketing Officer of Collective Bias. “It’s about relationships, engagement and the emotional connections you can build with your customers that truly delivers value for brands in this space.”

According to a recent Advertiser Perceptions survey, social-media advertising will make up about 27% of digital budgets over the next 12 months, compared with 22% in the previous 12 months.

“As brands and retailers determine how they want to engage in this space, we’ll see the percentage of digital budgets increase,” said John Andrews (@Katadhin), CEO of Collective Bias. “Right now, everyone is trying to figure out which tools to use and how to best use them. We’re helping our clients integrate social into their media and marketing plans so that we’re amplifying existing media with shopper media to drive sales and increase online share of voice.”

Collective Bias closed 2011 with a doubling of revenue over 2010. The company added more than twenty employees in 12 months; among them several senior hires brought in to drive strategic initiatives, sales, operations and organizational development.

Kate Berg (@KateTBerg), recently named President, leads the company’s strategic planning, platform development and branding. She also works alongside CEO John Andrews to develop plans for revenue growth, market expansion and product development. Berg resides in New York and spends half her time in Bentonville, Ark.

Berg comes to Collective Bias with over twenty years experience in the technology and media industries. During the 1990’s dot-com boom, she helped emerging technology and internet firms build successful businesses in highly competitive marketplaces, serving in leadership roles at Gartner, KPMG Consulting and Jupiter. She then spent almost a decade in start-ups, building early mobile and social solutions M3, Avenue B and Mojiva/mOcean.

“We are extremely lucky to have Kate join our team,” said Andrews. “As Kate transitions into this critical leadership role, she will not only deepen our core competencies but will also help establish critical business relationships with media partners across the country.”

In addition to Berg, Collective Bias recently hired Jon Lemire (@JonLemire86) as VP of Business Development and Sales, and Casey Petersen (@ThatGeekCasey) as Director of Social Media Analytics. With over 10 years of experience at Walmart and three at the NCR Corporation, Lemire will lead a sales team located in San Diego, Chicago and Bentonville. Petersen, formally of Murphy USA, where he managed its digital and social media efforts, has vast experience in analyzing and measuring success in the social space.

“With these key roles in place, we are creating a foundation that will drive our future success,” said Amy Callahan (@AmyfromCB), Chief of Staff. “One of the biggest challenges for brands who want to engage in the social space is measuring its value. With Casey on board, we’ll be able to provide clients with more detailed analytics and really measure the value of our programs to their marketing efforts.”

The company moved into its current space near the historical square in downtown Bentonville a year ago and has recently expanded to the adjacent space to accommodate for the additional staff. Recently, Collective Bias announced its expansion into a new geographical market to Canada and is working on building an online community in Mexico.

“Companies across every industry are recognizing the power social media has to drive their share of voice in the market, to increase consumer engagement and in many cases, to increase sales,” said Berg, President of Collective Bias. “The portfolio of products and services Collective Bias has developed is cutting edge, and as we move into new markets, our goal is to fuel the generation and consumption of shopper-focused, consumer-generated content -- and provide our clients with detailed analytics that demonstrate the value of their investment.”

About Collective Bias
Collective Bias™ drives retail sales through the coordinated creation of social media stories. Its Social Fabric® influencers connect with the brands and retailers they use in their daily lives to drive conversations on a wide variety of social media platforms. Their stories build consumer engagement and brand loyalty, ultimately leading to sales conversion. For more information, visit http://www.collectivebias.com.